Though specific details haven’t yet been released, we do know that the new SAT will be more in line with Common Core state standards, and will transition toward a real test of math knowledge. Overall, it’s clear that the SAT I is beginning to morph into the ACT.
Unlike the ACT, the SAT has never really tested the knowledge of math. Nor does it have anything in common with high school material. The SAT operates with 6th, 7th, and 8th grade math concepts: fractions, decimals, percents, proportions, simple world problems, functions, simple probability and basic geometry. But I’d like to take a minute to mourn the good aspects of the old test.
When first introduced to the SAT I, I hated it. My students, who excelled in math, often did worse than classmates whose grasp of the subject was much weaker. It’s much more difficult to prepare a child for the SAT than for the ACT. Yes, to perform well on the ACT a child really needs to know mathematics. But, what I came to realize, and to appreciate, is that the SAT measures something completely different: how quickly a child’s mind works, and how well he or she can process confusing information under pressure. And this has great value. The SAT is a very American test, in the way of the old American stereotype: Americans are known for being quick people, decision makers, risk takers, and confident in making intellectual guesses. And preparing for the SAT did well to develop these traits. For a true test of high school math, the College Board has had the SAT II IC - a one hour subject test that gives a very good indication of a child’s knowledge - and very similar in content to the ACT. With these two tests combined, colleges had a solid picture of a student - in both knowledge and thinking ability.
Still, the combination of test prep centers and income inequality made the SAT unfair. And the book on the old test is closed.
I will miss you, old friend, though my students certainly will not.
Written by Inessa Rifkin, Founder of the Russian School of Mathematics
